The New York Knicks’ quest for their first NBA title since 1973 has continued to draw the country’s most famous personalities to Madison Square Garden, with none bigger than President Donald Trump.
On Monday, Trump became the first sitting president to attend an NBA Finals game as the Knicks lost 115-111 to the San Antonio Spurs in Game 3.
President Trump Details How Has Changed After Spurs-Knicks Game 3 Thriller
While speaking to reporters after attending the Knicks-Spurs game, the president broke down how the NBA’s physicality had changed over the past 10 years.
“The game has changed, it’s gotten rougher, which is a good thing, not a bad thing,” Trump said. “It’s gotten rougher when you look at the way they guard people now. I don’t remember them doing that 10 years ago. It’s good for the game, it’s a tougher game.”
Trump was booed by the fans in Madison Square Garden when he was shown on the Jumbotron during the singing of the national anthem by Avery Wilson before the start of the game. Trump, who was caught napping at one point during the game, put a positive spin on the boos he faced from the fans at MSG.
“I thought it was very good, it was certainly amazing. It was, I think, mostly cheers,” Trump said. “It was loud and it was very enthusiastic. The game was fantastic. Well played by both teams. We all had a lot of fun and it was great to watch. Very talented players.
The President was accompanied to the game by his granddaughter, Kai, and cabinet secretaries Sean Duffy, Doug Burgum, and Lee Zeldin. He watched the thrilling contest from Knicks owner James Dolan’s suite, where he interacted with NBA Commissioner Adam Silver and gubernatorial candidate Bruce Blakeman.
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The president’s attendance at the game was met with stringent security measures as fans had to go through various checkpoints before entering the Garden, causing backed-up lines hours before the contest tipped off. The Knicks’ watch party was cancelled and then moved to Bryant Park due to security concerns.
Other famous personalities in attendance at Game 3 included New York Mayor Zohran Mamdani, NFL legend Eli Manning, rap legend Jay Z, former New York Yankees star Derek Jeter, actors Tracy Morgan, Ben Stiller, and Timothée Chalamet.
Despite the hype around the Knicks’ first NBA Finals home game in 27 years, the Spurs, led by Victor Wembanyama, snapped New York’s 13-game playoff winning streak to make this series interesting again.